Tuesday, February 2, 2016

MS Gundam Seed Heroines 6: Cagalli Yula Athha

Come to think of it, writing a single-posting-type review is just as rare as having gashapon reviews on my blog these days. ^^;MS Gundam Seed Heroines 6: Cagalli Yula AthhaProduction company:Bandai (Gashapon World)Release date: November 2005Price: Five types in total, 400 Yen each (exclusive of tax).Merchandise link

This is one of (many) old purchases that I have in my collection that I'm s-l-o-w-l-y bringing out for review on the blog. ^^; I used to have more gashapon reviews in the past, especially from the MS Gundam Seed Heroines series, which were usually featured as set reviews that would come out every now and then. I still have many unopened gashapon sets in my collection, Gundam and non-Gundam types, but finding time to appreciate and review them is getting more difficult these days. ^^

Vol. 6 of MS Gundam Seed Heroines is unique for having three figurines designed to be in sitting poses. Besides this version of Cagalli, the other two sitting-type figurines being Lacus Clyne and Meer Campbell. In terms of character design, since I already have the MS Gundam Seed Destiny EF Collection 3 version of Lacus with her "combat dress" (which features the removable cape gimmick as well) and Meer in the same costume and similar pose from HGIF Gundam Character 3 Vol. Gundam SEED Destiny, plus the fact that I already have the same two figurines of the Hawke sisters in Hawke Sisters Special set, I didn't feel like getting Vol. 6 of MS Gundam Seed Heroines as a complete set. For that matter, it was rather fortunate for me to be able to find someone who was able to let go of this figurine of Cagalli as a singular item to me. ^^

All five types (Lunamaria Hawke, Meyrin Hawke, Lacus Clyne, Cagalli Yula Athha and Meer Campbell) in this set, which are previewed on the left and right sides of the box.

Top and bottom views of the box.

All five types are shown on back of the box as well.

Box open.

No knife is needed to open up the boxes since all of them have easy-to-tear edges.

The standard questionnaire behind the front cover.

Like the other figurines from the MS Gundam Heroines series, different parts of the figurine are sealed in dedicated plastic packages.

A little bit of assembly is required to get the completed figurine.

The large-sized lower body part of the figurine as compared to my palm. ^^

Simple assembly to complete Cagalli.

There's no specific connecting point to hold the piece of cloth in place, although its molded shape does provide some hints on where it should be placed. For the most part, the cloth piece just "sits" there on the dress of the sitting Cagalli. ^^

With the cloth piece somewhat attached, the figurine would require quite a bit of space to be fully displayed.

More images of this gashapon figurine: ^^

Without the cloth piece:

Closeups on the details:

[Head]

[Body]

[Arms]

[Dress]

[Cloth piece]

With her sitting pose, the entire figurines does take up quite a bit of space for display, especially when the cloth piece is also attached. She's certainly not a regular gashapon that I can squeeze in between some model kits to be displayed on the shelves. ^^;

The sculpt work and painting on the figurine is really well done, which is to be expected of the MS Gundam Seed Heroines series I suppose. ^^ With Cagalli, I really like the smooth design of the entire dress, especially the lower body section that shows off the legs' silhouette and natural-looking folds and wrinkles. It's a very beautiful dress, and the figurine's design certainly did well to show that. ^^ I also like the soft color scheme used for the dress. It's obviously the designated color of the dress as seen in the anime, but it's accurately realized on the figurine and helped to "reinforce" the smooth look of the overall costume.

In terms of the face sculpt, there's a bit of the same not-quite-like-the-character weirdness as seen on Lacus Clyne from MS Gundam Seed Heroines 9, but definitely not as "severe". XD The hairstyle, pupil color and overall shape of the face are definitely true of Cagalli's character setting, but the mouth is a little off I think, especially when viewed directly from the front. ^^;

Bottom view: ^o^

The deformed legs are necessary for the sitting pose, but they are also the most uncanny aspect of the figurine. ^^;

Not surprisingly, the dress itself can be detached from the figurine's lower body. ^^

Cagalli without the dress:

The deformed design of the legs as shown just now means that the figurine is really not meant to be displayed without the dress piece. ^^;

Comparison with Lacus Clyne from MS Gundam Seed Heroines 9 who was just mentioned earlier on.

Lacus Clyne is actually the last figurine from the MS Gundam Seed Heroines series to be featured before Cagalli.

Comparison with other figurines from the MS Gundam Seed Heroines series with similar on-the-ground design: herself and Lacus Clyne from Vol. 3.

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About Me

After obtaining his Bachelor of Business (Information Systems), Ngee Khiong pursued his post-graduate studies in Master of Multimedia from Swinburne University. Prior to joining as a full-time teaching staff, Ngee Khiong has worked on the design of several commercial web projects, as well as teaching as a part-time lecturer in Swinburne Sarawak. After ending his near eight-year teaching career, Ngee Khiong is now working as an administrative staff at Sarawak Energy Berhad.